Development of an automated form generating system for menu item data

At the University of Missouri-Columbia, an Automated Form Generating System consisting of six computer programs was developed to generate the master menu, production forecast and usage forms, production worksheet, food order report, and selective menus for patients. In the initial testing of the programs, this computer-assisted system showed a 30 per cent reduction in time requirred by dietitians and clerks when compared with the manual system. Some expected benefits include ease in making menu changes, substantial reduction in errors, automatic updating of documents, and reduction in storage space for forms because documents will be generated just prior to a production week. The system will be implemented at a later date.